Mario and Luigi, Stage On!
by Genji Kazemaru
Summary: A scan found that energy produced by the Heartless was coming from the Mushroom World.  The Sailor Soldiers/Senshi have been sent to investigate.  Along the way, the meet up with legendary characters and face off against memorable enemies.
1. Chapter 1

Sailor Moon Chronicles R

Danger in the Mushroom Kingdom!

Mario and Luigi, Stage On!

The Sailor Soldiers/Senshi of Earth, emissaries of the Justice League and the Jedi Council, waited on the Celestia Space Station near the Planet Hylia. The Justice League and the Jedi Council had given the Sailor Soldiers of Earth the assignment of tracking down a group of galactic criminals, self-dubbed the Dark Kingdom, who had escaped into an another dimension that had been explored marginally by officials from the Galactic Republic. At the moment, Sailor Moon (Usagi/Serena Tsukino), Sailor Mercury (Ami/Amy Mizuno), Sailor Mars (Rei Hino), Sailor Jupiter (Makoto/Lita Kino), and Sailor Venus (Minako/Mina Aino) were the only Sailor Solders available as Sailor Uranus (Haruka/Amara Tenou), Sailor Nepute (Michiru/Michelle Kaiou), and Sailor Pluto (Setsuna/Trista Meiou), and Sailor Saturn (Zoey Yuki) were already off on missions elsewhere in the dimension.

The girls, in their civilian forms but wearing their Republic uniforms, sat around a large conference table that housed a hologram projector in the center, which would be where their bosses could speak to them from since they were too busy in their own dimension to give instruction in person.

"What do you think they are going to have us do next?" asked Mina.

"I'm not sure yet," said Ami. "The last time we fought the Dark Kingdom was on Planet Hylia, but they could have gone just about anywhere. We can't even count if they are still in this system."

Holographic projections of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Superman appeared on the center of the table.

"Good morning, ladies," said Superman charismatically.

"Good morning, Superman, Master Kenobi," the girls said in unison and respectfully.

"Our scans have picked up a peculiar and sudden surge of dark energy on a planet called Mushroom World, particularly in a region called Dark Land."

"It sounds like a nice place," said Rei with a dash of sarcasm.

"Yes, well," continued Obi-Wan with a stroke of his beard, "it is a mysterious place. The tyrannical ruler of the kingdom, Bowser, King of the Koopas, has had a vendetta with the neighboring Mushroom Kingdom for years. Unfortunately, our intelligence doesn't have much information on the king or his kingdom. The Republic has befriended the Mushroom Kingdom, so we are ordering you there to get further information on the Dark Land before entering it. You will be taking an Eta-class shuttle down to the surface. It is unarmed. We would not want to stir any hostilities with the peaceful natives of Toad Town, the Mushroom Kingdom's capital."

"I have already contacted the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, Princess Peach Toadstool, and she is expecting you," said Superman. "Go to Mushroom Kingdom, and then travel to Dark Land to see if Kaorinite or any other Dark Kingdom members are there. You have your mission. Good luck, ladies."

"Understood," the girls said together.

Superman and Obi-Wan signed off.

Usagi sighed and whined. "Now we can't join Zoey testing out wedding cakes this afternoon. What rotten luck."

"Maybe we can still make it in time to try out some cakes if we finish the mission quickly," said Mina confidently. "How hard can it be?"

The Mushroom World, one of the first planets in this foreign dimension to be explored by the Galactic Republic of Sailor Moon's home dimension, was a planet of blissful mystery and charming wonder. It was unreal, by far to the standards of a resident of Earth. Once the Eta-class shuttle passed through the puffy white upper atmosphere, the pages of the world were fanned open. Colors all vivid and rich from the pages of child's storybook came to life in this land: the luscious lands of unsullied frosting green, waters in the lakes and rivers as clear blue as the blue raspberry Jell-O, each mountain had a powdered sugar cap, even the desert sands were brown sugar with cinnamon stick stones. Houses dotted the candied landscape, adding richness with their licorice red tile roofs. Rhythmic puffs of smoke came up from the chimneys with a soft tuff. Tuff. Tuff. Tuff. The inhabitants of this world, for the most part, were small, smaller than humans normally, so the miniature world from the bird's-eye view of the Eta-class shuttle was even more of toy set. As the shuttle came in over a lake, a heard of Yoshis raced along the shore quickly in a kaleidoscopic charge. These cartoon dinosaurs, shaped like cuddly t-rexes, soft and round where all would seem to be rough and sharp, came in every vivid and beautiful color under in the rainbow. The girls all ogled at the copious sights in this magical world and took in every sight with starry eyes.

"It's so pretty," said Usagi in awe.

"It looks like toys in a toy store," commented Minako in blissful wonder. "Could we get a closer look?" she asked Makoto, who was flying the shuttle.

"Of course," she replied.

The ship came in over a mirror of a lake. The two lower wings of the shuttle skated on the mirror surface. The Cheep-Cheeps, large, adorable, red and white fish, leapt out of the water. With their enormous blue eyes, they caught a glimpse of the new arrivals to the planet.

"I can see Princess Peach's castle up ahead," said Ami. "There is Toad Town too."

A sprawling on the rolling, verdant hills were growing clusters of red-roofed houses, stone walls, and cobblestone roads. Toads walked merrily around with bliss. Many species, including humans, lived in the lands of the Mushroom Kingdom, but the Toads were the most prominent species. Contrary to their names, there weren't amphibious creatures. Instead their name came from toadstool. The Toads were also called Mushroom people, for on their heads where hair would be were white mushroom caps with spots of varying colors. Since each member of the race was around two-feet in height, many structures were made to be quaint. Further down the main road and adjacent to a placid lake and rising over Toad Town was Princess Peach's Castle. This nostalgic place, gorgeous, simple, extravagant, memorable… Everyone in the land recognized this place that stood high in the center of the sapphire moat and surround by emerald paradise. It was not known for its size, for as far as famous castles go, it was modest in size. It was not revered for its impenetrable, tall stone walls or high and intimidating battlements, for it didn't have any noticeably grand protection. This castle was famous because it stood as a testament to this land of purity and wonder, of the fruition of dreams. The silvery stone of the walls, the shimmer of every ruby tile on the roof, spires topped with freely flittering flags, all over which showed in the reflection of the cerulean mirrored moat and lake, came together around the stain glass window under the center spire, over the balcony, over the main door. Alight in the midday sun, shimmering with every color of the rainbow presented by each and every shard of crystal class, each an individual, all of which united, interdependent, connecting each individual into one: the image of the princess mythic in beauty. Her head rose up towards the sky, her fingers laced below her chin in prayer, looking up to the heavens with hope for a new day.

The coordinates Obi-Wan Kenobi had given the girls instructed them to land in a circular area adjacent to the Toad Town's town square. The shuttle's wings folded up, and the ship's landing gears came down as the shuttle landed vertically on the makeshift landing pad. The girls descended down the ramp and were greeted with bursts of confetti and cheers. The small Toad people lined the square and watched in glee as the visitors arrived.

"This is what I call a welcome," said Minako as she happily waved back to the toads.

An elderly Toad, who was accompanied by two spear-wielding Toads, approached the girls. He was a cute elder gentleman. His age was not shown in wrinkles. Instead, it was shown by his big, white mustache, the tiny spectacles that rested on top of the mustache, and the cane he carried. He was dressed in a cute, purple suit with golden trim and a red bowtie.

"Welcome to the Mushroom Kingdom," he said cordially. "My name is Toadsworth, steward to Princess Toadstool. You must be the team Superman sent, correct?"

"Yes," affirmed Rei.

"You guys throw really great welcoming parties," said Usagi cheerfully.

"Thank you," Toadsworth said with pride. "We are a people of tradition."

"Superman must have mentioned that we are here to find information about the Koopa King's kingdom," said Ami.

"Yes, miss," said Toadsworth. "The Princess has requested an audience with you. She will explain to you what she knows about the dreaded monster Bowser. The princess has had… _personal_ experience with him. Follow me. I shall take you to the princess."

"Monster?" remarked Makoto. "He must be some tyrant."

"He is," confirmed Toadsworth. "But if you meet him, you will really see why he is called a monster."

The five girls followed the steward through the main gates and entered the castle grounds. The path to the castle was not treated with stone bricks or cobblestone. Oddly enough, the path to the regal abode was solely dirt; it was nice dirt, smoothed and treated as to prevent any kick-up of dust. The grass on the subtle hills on the palace grounds was trim to the point of being like carpet. Not a brown splotch could be found. The trees stood straight and short. The branches held pompoms of leaves that rustled softly with the breeze giving off a cheer as the girls passed by them. Along the rails of the stone bridge that went over the moat and to the castle doors stood Toad trumpeters, who took to their horns with pride the second the doors opened.

Toadsworth called to the girls, "May I present to you the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, Princess Peach Toadstool."

One human woman appeared in the frame of the door. Not one person could deny that this was a princess based solely off her physical appearance. Dawned in a simply pink dress topped with hot pink trim and long, white gloves that went passed her elbows, barely touching the puffed sleeves of the dress, and drawn together by the rich cerulean gems on her brooch, earrings, and on either side of the crimson gem at the center of her petit, golden crown, which sat atop wave after wave of flaxen hair. Her face was colored and smooth like that of a Barbie. Her blue eyes shined with happiness and twinkled with innocence. She smiled at the girls, and they immediately responded with bows.

"Princess Toadstool," said Usagi. "It is an honor to meet you."

Peach said sweetly. "I appreciate your formality, Sailor Soldiers. From what Superman and Master Kenobi said, you are here to ask for my help in your investigation."

"Yes, Princess," affirmed Usagi.

"Well then, perhaps we can discuss it during a tour of the castle grounds?" said the princess.

The girls looked up at her. Usagi gave a loud. "That sounds so cool. We would love that."

"Any friend of Supreme Chancellor Kakyuu is a friend of mine," Peach said with a wink. "I also invited three dear friends to come and visit. All three of them know a lot about Bowser and will provide you with plenty of information. They have battled against Bowser many times to rescue me."

"Rescue you?" Rei said. "Has Bowser kidnapped you… multiple times?"

"Yes," she answered simply.

"Why does he come after you so often?" asked Makoto.

"It depends on his mood really," explained Peach as she led them for a stroll around the castle's front yard. "Sometimes he wants to take over the Mushroom Kindgom; sometimes he wants he wants me to be his bride. At other times he really wants me to bake him a cake."

The untransformed Sailor Soldiers nearly fell over.

"What was that last one?" asked Usagi in bewilderment.

"He really likes the cakes I bake, so he kidnaps me or challenges my friends and me to sport matches to get a piece. Sometimes we have even gone go-cart riding. When you are done with your work today, why don't you come and have some cake with me?"

They just gawked at Peach.

"Must be some cake," Makoto said, awestruck.

The girls reduced their pace and came in close to one another to talk so that Peach couldn't hear them.

"Do you really think what she said is for real?" asked Rei.

"I really wouldn't know," said Ami. "Even Master Kenobi has never seen Bowser, so he might be… different from what we are expecting."

"Toadsworth said that Bowser is a monster," stated Usagi with uncertainty, "but Peach said that she went go-cart riding with him. Hmm… it sounds strange. I wonder what kind of cake is her specialty. I hope that she keeps her promise and gives us some."

"Do you think she is off her rocker?" suggested Minako. "Look at her." They all glanced at Peach. She was had extended a frilly, pink parasol and hummed a blissful tune as she walked. She embodied the innocence of a princess. "She seems so… perfect."

"She is a princess," said Usagi. Her eyes twinkled. "We princesses share that title and those characteristics: grace, beauty, class." She then switched on the melodrama. "Sometimes we are so misunderstood."

"Peach probably isn't nearly as clumsy as you," Rei commented snidely. "I will say that she seems just as spacy as you."

"Eh!" Usagi whined. "Rei, you're so mean. I can't believe Luna thought you could be a princess. Princesses aren't mean hags!"

"She never suspected you because princesses don't eat like a Snorlax!" Rei snapped back.

The two girls then proceeded to the next stage of their argument, which just consisted of them sticking their tongues out at each other. They stopped when they heard Peach gasp in delight. They were now in a circular clearing. In the center of that clearing, a large green pipe had erupted up from the ground. Peach turned to the girls.

"May I introduce three heroes to the Mushroom Kingdom," she announced in her soft voice.

Three figures shot up out from the pipe. One shouted, "Yahoo!" The second shouted, "Wahoo!" And the third cried, "Yoshi!" They each landed in that order. The first to land was man, a short man, stocky too. He was not the quintessence of a hero, not even close. He was clad in blue overalls with gold buttons, a red, long-sleeved shirt, white gloves, brown shoes, and a red cap that had a red letter M in white circle; that was all he wore. His eyes were a pleasant blue. However, he had brown hair that peeked down past the brim of the hat, yet his bushy mustache was black. His nose was very large and round. The second to land looked quite similar to the first except that he was taller and wore a green shirt instead of a red one. It was quite possible that they were brothers. The third to land was the most peculiar; he wasn't even human. He was a Yoshi, a green one and really cute like all Yoshis. Height wise, each of these renowned heroes were just around or shorter than the Sailor Soldiers. From what the girls could tell, the two human men lacked noticeable muscles or carried weapons. On top of that, they looked so cartoonish and hard to take serious. Were these really the revered heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom, who saved the princess from an evil tyrant on many occasions? The Sailor Soldiers really started to find this magical world to be lacking a few screws.

Peach introduced them in order. "This is Mario, Luigi, and their friend Yoshi."

The three heroes smiled at the girls, who reciprocated with dumbfounded gawking.

"I think I know why this place is called the Mushroom World," Usagi commented.

"So you are the ones who want to see the Koopa King?" said Mario with a slight blush. "I have dealt with the Koopa King before and could get the knowledge you seek."

"My brother and I are the best plumbers you can ask to stop a dragon," Luigi said with pride.

Usagi tilted her held in bamboozlement. "Did you just say that you're plumbers?"

Minako looked around suddenly. "Where is the camera? We have to be getting 'punked' right now."

"No, that's okay" said Rei, trying to keep her composure in light of all of the strangeness. "We are going there ourselves."

Luigi and Yoshi gasped. "Young ladies, such as yourselves, shouldn't go to a place like that. It's too dangerous and scary. You'll need our help."

"Okay, that's it," said Makoto with a tinge of frustration. "We can take care of ourselves. Chancellor Kyakku selected us out of all the other heroes in the Justice League to come here to this dimension and track down a group of villains, and we don't need _plumbers_ to help us." To strengthen her argument, she left out that most of the Justice League members were already on assignment.

"Oh!" gasped Mario. "When I heard that someone needed to see what was going on in the Koopa King's territory, I thought that my brother, Luigi, and me would be the ones to go."

"We only came to the Mushroom Kingdom because our orders are to find someone here who could tell us what to expect once we actually went to see whether or not the enemy we've been sent to track down in this dimension is working with Bowser," Ami explained sternly. "Please, just tell us what we need to know so that we can go."

Suddenly, BOOM! An explosion came from Toad Town. Another explosion sounded. The cries of Toads came along with their staccato of scrambling. The harsh wizzes of large fired blasts were heard before another explosion and the subsequent crumbling of a short tower near the town square.

Toadsworth came running down the path in a panic. "It's the Bowser's forces!" he cried. "Look!" He pointed to the skies behind Toad Town.

"Are those galleons?" Ami said in disbelief.

Three, large, wooden sailing ships were flying through the air towards the castle. Only instead of sails, these vessels had metal propellers there and atop their masts and along their underside. Three cannons were fixed in each of three openings long the starboard and portside with cannons also stationed at the stern. A big, terrifying stone face of a dragon creature was placed below the bow of each ship. The lead Airship quickly sailed over the gate and was now within the castle grounds. From the cracks between the wooden panels fell dark purple balls of darkness. Like black snowflakes, they fell onto the green grass. Once they were on the ground, the balls of shadow scurried into piles and rose up, morphing into solid forms, Primid Heartless. These albeit cartoony monsters stood to about a meter and a half, bearing black skin and red eyes, and glad uniformly in green tunics which bared the emblem of the Heartless on the chest, pillbox hats with a singular red antenna, and dull brown gloves and shoes.

"Those are Heartless," said Ami, "but I've never seen this kind before."

Peach became very scared and retreated to Toadsworth's side.

"Minako, take Peach inside the castle," ordered Rei, getting into a battle stance.

"Right," she said with a nod. Minako took Peach's arm and escorted her up the path.

"I could really use something to hit right now," said Makoto joyfully. She charged into a group of Primids. One came up behind her, and she kicked it in the face. Another one came at her with a punch, but her punch was quicker. When her fist hit its stomach, his arms and head doubled down. With her free hand, she grabbed one of the arms, lifted the Primid above her head and slammed it into another Primid Heartless. Mario and Luigi gawked at her with open mouths. "I told you that we can take care of ourselves," she said to them with a wink.

The two brothers and their companion joined the fight. Mario and Luigi could jump to impressive heights and were fast on their feet and with their hands, punching and kicking down Heartless. Yoshi used his frog-like tongue to grapple an enemy, trap it in his mouth, and then spit it back out, knocking out another one. Usagi awkwardly evaded the jabs of the Primids. During a scuffle with one, she kicked it away, but she didn't realize that she was on the top of a small hill until she stumbled back and rolled down it. Ami then saw that the lead Airship fired two Bullet Bills, large, semi-sentient bullets with angry mouths, mean eyes and clenched fists, and they had their sights set on Rei and Makoto.

"Mercury Crystal Power, Make-Up!"

After ribbons of water wrapped around her, Ami became into Sailor Mercury.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!" Sailor Mercury sent out a blast of water that caught and froze the Bullet Bills midflight, causing them to fall vertically to the ground and shatter. "Everyone, transform!" she called to the girls.

"Mars Crystal Power, Make-Up!"

Rings of fire whirled around Rei, transforming her into Sailor Mars.

"Jupiter Crystal Power, Make-Up"

Strings of lightning accumulated around Makoto, and in a flash of light, she became Sailor Jupiter.

"Burning Mandala!"

Sailor Mars launched several rings of fire from her hands that scorched through many Primids, releasing the hearts inside each one.

"Supreme Thunder!"

Sailor Jupiter sent out bolts of electricity from the antenna that extend from the gem on her tiara and fried many more of the Heartless.

A peculiarly young laugh that oddly enough still sounded somewhat monstrous sounded. The origin seemed to be a large, flying white cup with a clown face giving an innocent smile of orange lips and black eyes painted on it. A small, green propeller on the bottom spun. Sitting inside the cup was a fusion of a turtle and a dragon. He was the size of a man but had the appearance, roundness and softness of spikes seen on a youngling. The horns on his green shell were so small and nearly rounded at the tips. He had yellow appendages with soft, pearly claws on each hand and foot. His big and round snout was light tan and housed a big mouth with on small fang peeking through the close-lipped smile. The rest of his head looks like an olive, with two tiny horns, also having red hair making his bushy eyebrows and flame-shaped topknot. He wore metal bracers on his wrists and seemed to be wearing a white bib around his neck that covered most of this padded torso. An angry, teeth-baring, and optimistically intimidating mouth was draw on the bib with, quite possibly, crayons. Overall, this new opponent looked adorable.

"Hahaha!" he laughed. The attempt at intimidation was cute. "You just don't quit, Mario and Luigi." He then realized he was actually in front of Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter. "You don't look like Mario and Luigi. You're red and green, but you're _way_ too skinny and pretty."

"They are over there," Sailor Mars said with a scowl, pointing to Mario and Luigi, who had just double punched a Primid. "Who are you anyway?"

"I am Bowser Jr.," he announced.

"Bowser Jr.?" repeated Sailor Mercury in shock. "Are you the Koopa King's son?"  
>"You got that right, lady," he answered with a point of his finger.<p>

Usagi came up over the hill, out of breath. She saw the young and round prince in his adorable craft and squealed. "Oh! He is so cute!"

"Just wait till you see what he'll grow into," said Yoshi, who was near her.

"Stop that!" whined Bowser Jr., stamping his feet and rocking his craft, his own personal Koopa Clown Car. "I'm the prince of the Koopa Troop! Who might you be anyway?"

Usagi smiled. "I'm glad you asked." She took out her Crisis Moon Compact. "Moon Crisis, Make-Up!" The compact affixed itself on her chest. Ribbons of pink spread around her body and wrapped around her. In flashes of light, the ribbons became her Sailor uniform. Usagi became Sailor Moon. "I will not let a naughty child like you cause havoc in this beautiful dream world. For love and justice! I'm a pretty soldier in a sailor suit! Sailor Moon!"

"Sailor Mercury!"

"Sailor Mars!"

"Sailor Jupiter!"

"And in the name of the moon, I'll punish you!"

"You?" gasped Bowser Jr. "Kaorinite warned my dad about you."

"Kaorinite is here?" questioned Sailor Moon quickly. "We totally called it!"

Bowser Jr. knew he made a mistake. "Huh-uh… No. Uh yeah," he answered, shifting into confidence to appear more competent. "And she gave me and my dad these cool new troops, like this one. Appear, Heartless!

One of the Airships was hovering overhead. It came between them and the sun, so a halo of blinding light guarded the edges of the dark haul. CRASH! The ground quaked! Something huge had jumped off the ship and landed between the heroes and Bowser Jr. It steadily rose to reveal itself to be a Primid Heartless that stood three men tall. Mario and Luigi and Yoshi joined the Sailor Soldiers, all ready to face the behemoth.

"Big Primid, smash them!" the young prince ordered.

Meanwhile, Peach and Minako dashed into the castle. The walls of this magnificent castle did not make those inside feel confined within stone walls. The blue sky, puffy cloud, rolling green hill surround them with the bright, painted sun above shining down on the black and white tiled floor and lighting up the open and beautiful chamber. Lovely, soft, red carpeting lay on the steps to the side, leading up to platforms leading to doors, each door being of smooth, polished wood, and up the tall staircase that led to the next floor of the castle.

"Do you have somewhere safe to hide?" Minako asked Peach urgently.

"I am afraid that that will be pointless."

Peach and Minako looked up to the top of the staircase. The Dathomirian Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress stood at the railing of the second floor, looking down at the beautiful, young girls with her intense, obsessed, icy blue eyes, sharply. This chalk-pale humanoid woman was draped in black and white; her flowing, black skirt went all the way to the floor. "Princess Toadstool," she said; with her voice sultry and her cold eyes never breaking away from Peach's as she turned the corner of the banister, her hand still on it, and descended the scarlet steps. "My dear princess, you are requested in the audience of the Koopa King. Allow me to escort you."

"Escort?" Peach repeated innocently with wide eyes. "I'm sorry, sir, but I would not like to accompany you."

Ventress grew furious, and her smooth, white face cracked with anger crevices. "I'm not asking." She used the Force to throw Minako hard against the wall, leaving Peach standing alone in the middle of the room and very frightened. "Come nice and quickly now, Princess."

"Venus Crystal Power, Make-Up!"

A chain of gold stars trailed behind her Crystal Change Rod as she waved it around and whirled around. After a burst of stars erupted around her, Minako had become Sailor Venus.

"Soldier of love and beauty! I'm a pretty soldier in a sailor suit! Sailor Venus! Ventress, in the name of Venus, I'll deliver divine punishment on you!"

"I should have known you brats would be here," said Ventress, as she took her lightsabers from her belt and ignited them, casting that terrifying red light over her black and white form and the peaceful-day-painted walls.

"Venus Love-Me Chain!"

Sailor Venus summoned a chain of golden hearts and whipped it forth at Ventress. Ventress leapt up out of the way and came pouncing down on to the floor of the ground floor. She slashed at Sailor Venus daftly yet missed the girl or merely stuck her energy chain. Seeing that the assailant was distracted, Peach ran for it and went up the stairs to escape. Unfortunately for her, Ventress, being the skilled assassin and Force-user she is, sensed Peach take her leave. Not wanting to let her prey get away, Ventress knocked Sailor Venus back against small set of steps and dashed up the main staircase after Peach. It wasn't easy for a princess in a dress like that to maneuver, but her bounteous history of being captured helped her better hone her survival skills. Sadly, that wasn't going to be enough save her from Ventress. A few wrong turns and rushed thoughts lead to Peach pushing open the doors to the balcony that looked out onto her front yard, where a Big Primid was making a mess of the manicured lawn while trying to smash down the four girls, two short men, and an adorable dinosaur creature. One of the Airships was steadily becoming parallel with the balcony, and Ventress came up behind Peach and grabbed her arm. "Now, you're mind, Princess."

Mario had just gotten socked by the Big Primid and sent backward towards the castle. He shook his head and got up.

"Mario!" shouted Peach.

Mario turned and looked up to see Peach, restrained by Ventress, on the Airship's deck. The three Airships faced away from the castle and began to make their leave. Sailor Venus arrived on the balcony too late to catch the Airship. She leapt off and landed on the bridge to the castle.

"Hey!" she called to Mario. "You have to come with us to save her. They are on their way to Bowser's Castle. You know what to expect, so we need your help. Hurry!"

Mario nodded and followed after her.

Meanwhile, the Sailor Soldiers were having a hard time with the Big Primid. He had just hobbled back after getting kicked it the chest by Sailor Jupiter.

"It's quite resilient," said Sailor Mercury.

Just then, Bowser Jr. saw that the ships were leaving. "Looks like that's me cue to go," he called to his adversaries. "Play nice now." He flew to the Airship where Peach was held.

"Why are they retreating?" asked Sailor Moon.

"They have Peach!" called Sailor Venus, arriving with Mario. "We have to catch them."

"We need to finish off this Heartless," Sailor Mars said urgently.

"I will slow him down," announced Sailor Mercury. "Sabao Spray!"

She unleashed a blast of large bubbles that encircled the Big Primid and entrapped him.

"Now, Sailor Moon!"

"Got it!" Sailor Moon summoned her Cutie Moon Rod into her hand and charged up her attack. "Moon Princess Halation!" Sailor Moon fired a blast of shining energy in the shape of a crescent moon from her rod. When the attack hit, the Big Primid wailed and exploded in a burst of light, shouting, "Cleansing!"

"Let's get a move on!" Sailor Jupiter called. "Everyone, into the shuttle!"


	2. Chapter 2

Sailor Moon Chronicles R

Flying Chase to Bowser's Castle

Flight Fight in Marble Sky!

Laughing out in triumph, Bowser Jr. joined Ventress and Peach on the deck of the main Airship along with the Koopa crewmen. The Koopa Troopas were far less severe-looking as Bowser Jr. though they were at his height, which was comparable to a grown human. Their shells for either green, red, blue, or yellow and were not styled with spikes nor did spikes or any sharpness appear on the rest of their smooth, pale yellow bodies. Even their eyes were bigger and more cartoonish. They all cutely wore shoes that matched their shells.

"Haha!" bellowed the young prince in triumph. "I did it! I kidnapped the princess and will bring her back to my dad."

"Excuse me, Little Prince," said Ventress with cold disdain. "I believe that _I_ was the one who actually abducted the princess. All you did was play with your toys."

Bowser Jr. huffed. "Well, you did kinda help me out back there, I guess."

"Your Young Majesty!" cried a red-shelled Koopa Paratroopa, that being just Koopa Troopa with a pair of small wings attached to his or her shell, which gave them the ability to fly modestly. This particular one wore a red bucket on his head as a helmet.

"What is it, Corporal Paraplonk?" asked Bowser Jr.

"I think you should see this," the Koopa said urgently, fanatically waving his pointing finger at the sky passed the rear of the ship.

All four spied an Eta-class shuttle fast approaching the squadron of Airships.

Ventress's eyes narrowed. "I hope that your ships are well armed."

"You betcha they are," Bowser Jr. said with pride.

Sailor Jupiter piloted the craft while Sailor Mercury copiloted. Sailor Venus and Sailor Moon sat behind them. To accommodate for the extra passengers, Sailor Mars had to help Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi into the extra seats in the cabin behind the cockpit. Yoshi proved difficult to buckle up as he didn't like being tied down and showed this by struggling and kicking Sailor Mars like a child fighting to get out of a car seat. Thankfully, Mario calmed him down.

"What's the plan?" Sailor Mercury asked.

Sailor Venus face froze in bamboozlement. "I thought you were going to make a plan. You always make a plan when something happens."

"You're the one who rushed us all into the ship," protested Mercury.

"Don't worry about it," said Sailor Jupiter with a cocky smirk. "We'll blast down anything they throw at as and swoop down on the command ship and grab the princess."

"But this shuttle didn't come with a weapons system."

With the façade of a baby, Sailor Jupiter stared out in front of her only to be shocked out of her stupor by a Bullet Bill hitting the left wing of the ship. A jolt was sent through the haul, rocking the passengers. Several lights on the control panel flashed and a small alarm chimed about misfortune. She gripped the flailing stirring wheel and quickly leveled the ship out. "An unarmed shuttle? Thanks for nothing, Obi-Wan!" she growled. Several more Bullet Bills, slowly, came for them with their eyes on the main haul. Jupiter gritted her teeth and commenced evasive maneuvers. "Anyone got a plan _now_?"

Sailor Venus looked down at the ship to their lower right and saw the portside cannons firing the Bullet Bills. "I do," said Venus affirmatively, unbuckling her safety belt. "Mars, come with me."

All for ships were in a diamond formation with each ship being a corner, and the command ship and the Soldier's ship being on opposite corners. The shuttle soon broke formation by speed up and became parallel with two of the Airships. The landing ramp of the ship opened; Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus, each looking at a different ship, gripped the extended rods. Wind ripping through their long and glorious hair like flicking flames in the rush of the wind, the girls charged up their attacks.

"Crescent Beam!" Sailor Venus fired her light beam and sliced into all three cannons on the port side of the ship. Explorations within the haul of the ship followed as did its nosedive.

"Fire Soul!" From her index finger, a column of fire shot forth. An explosion erupted when the blast made contact with the wooden deck of the ship, sending the Koopa Troopas scattering.

"Nice shots!" cheered Sailor Moon, as she watched with her palms pressed against the window while Mario and Luigi looked over her shoulders.

"It looks like we're not in the Mushroom Kingdom anymore," Luigi commented fearfully.

The transition was so instantaneous. For those flying, a thin gate of clouds separated the two different worlds: from rolling greens and peaceful blues to an ashen sky with wisps of hot reds, tainted and dead wastelands all crumbled, jaded and jagged, also burned and singed by the rivers of molten rock, birthed by the constant eruption of the many volcanic mounds mottled all over the land, spewing out fiery poison to create the veins that carried further to rot away any life.

"Uh…that was a shift," comment Sailor Moon.

Meanwhile, Ventress and Bowser glared at the scene of their ships smoking and crashing into the Earth.

"That's it!" cried Bowser Jr. "Bring out the big guns!"

A trap door in the center of the Airship's deck opened, and up raised one huge cannon. Its firing rocked the whole ship from stem to stern. A Banzai Bullet Bill was released. This massive Bullet Bill with an enraged scowl rammed its way through the air.

"Oh my god!" screamed Sailor Moon. "Moved out of the way!" She cried shaking Sailor Jupiter.

"I'm trying!" Sailor Jupiter shouted back nervously and pulling the ship away as quickly as she could.

Unfortunately, she wasn't fast enough, or the Banzai Bullet Bill was too fast. Either way, the monster rammed into the left wing of the ship and exploded, taking the left wing along with it. All the passengers were fortunately seated and buckled up except for Sailor Venus and Sailor Mars, who were still on the landing ramp. The violent jolt violently rocked the ship and knocked Sailor Mars off, sending her falling. Thankfully, Sailor Venus was still hanging onto the rod.

"Venus Love-Me Chain!" Her chain slashed out so quickly, so quickly in hopes of grabbing Sailor Mars in time, and caught the young woman. She gripped onto the chain as Sailor Venus tried to weal her up to safety (or at least a slightly safer alternative) while holding the chain with one hand and using the other arm to coil around the rod for dear life as the ship's speed and flight became more and more unpredictable. "Hang on!" she cried down to Sailor Mars.

"You're going to want to get her up quickly!" Sailor Mercury called to the others.

Coming up fast in front of them and raising up above a supremely sweltering sea of wrathful lava was Bowser's Castle, a towering and terrifying colossus of towers topped with green-tiled tips and battlements trimmed with obsidian black belts pattered with shape, hideously yellow fangs of spikes. Every angle was sharp, and if anything was rounded, there were spikes added near that area. Of course, an iconic stone carving of the Koopa King jutted out of the ashen stone façade above the great stone gate; it leered at all who stood before the castle looking to challenge its lord. The ramparts and walls fused nearly with the rock cliffs leaving no distance from the defenses of the castle and the fiery death lake below. As the ship was losing control exponentially, the solid rock below them was quickly transition into liquid form closer and close to the castle.

"We have no choice but to crash land inside the castle walls now," said Sailor Jupiter bitterly. "Mercury, take the controls. Boys, come and help me out!" She brought Mario and Luigi along with her to landing ramp to find Sailor Venus barely hanging onto the rod and Sailor Mars. "Come on! Pull!"

Now the four of them were more than enough to reel her up quickly; however, the ship was losing altitude just as fast. "Hold on! Pull!" The hot wind whips ripped at all of them. Still, keeping steady, holding on tightly, working together, they succeed. Now that all were on board, everyone strapped in for an emergency landing. Meanwhile, Sailor Mercury was pulling up the ship's nose as best as she could, but it was still sharply declining.

"You can do it, Sailor Mercury!" Sailor Moon cheered with half glee and half terror.

"The castle walls are coming up fast!" cried Sailor Venus.

Their ship was screaming down at the castle.

"Just… a little… more…" Mercury said, struggling.

With all of her pulling, she was able to keep the body of the shuttle up a hair above the ridge of the battlement, clipping the remaining wing against the stone wall and knocking the ship down in speed and out of its very straight path. SMASH! Into the dirt of a gloomy courtyard, the shuttle skidded along the raw umber earth, shaking up those inside as through it were a ride on a jackhammer, until it stopped. Everything was quiet.

Sailor Mars flipped her hair out of her face. "Is everyone okay?"

Mourns of yes were uttered.

"Oh…" said Sailor Moon uncomfortably. "We're in trouble. We need to call Obi-Wan for help." She got out of her seat and activated the transmission device in between the pilot and copilot seats. An action figure-sized hologram of Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared. "Master," she said in a panicky, hushed tone, "we need you help quickly. We just crash landed on enemy lines. We're surrounded."

His face dripped down into a sullen look. "You haven't been there more than two hours." He said dully. "How did this happen?"

"Maybe it wouldn't have happened if you gave us a ship with weapons?" Jupiter protested cynically.

"What she means to say," Mercury interjected putting her hands in front of Jupiter, "is that the Dark Kingdom is here on the Mushroom World, and they are working with Bowser. Ventress kidnapped Princess Peach."

"This is quite a problem," said Obi-Wan. "Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Saturn just became available. I will send them to your location. In the meantime, rescue the princess and try to stay alive." He ended the transmission.


	3. Chapter 3

Sailor Moon Chronicles R

Thwomps, Thwimps, Whomps, Whimps, and Fire!

Bowser's Castle of Traps and Monsters!

Meanwhile, there was a great hall in the castle. Parallel from each other and nearly spaced from the walls, were tall columns of bone-colored stone. They spouted up out of the green and grey tiled stones on the floor up to the black-grey ceiling. A path was made by a scarlet carpet that ran all the way from the grand oak doors down along the checkered tile floor and then up the short steps to the occupied throne. Atop that seat, which was decorate to look like a castle with each armrest ending at a battlement for the king's hands to lay and rest. A hulking monster sat as the lord of this castle and the fiery wasteland and rivers and lakes of fire. Being a Koopa in species and a colossal and more severely-shaped version of his son in appearance, he was nothing to really laugh at upon first glance. Though he was shaped like a green and yellow turtle with a spiked shell, the rest of his features were far more akin to that of a dragon's. His snout was sculpted like a dog's, and he was decorated by two devilish horns on either side of blazing vermillion, flame-shaped hair. He wore a black collar lined with silver spikes and two matching bands on each arm. Thick, brushes of fiery red hair rested above both of his big, crimson eyes. The sharpness of the spikes on his shell was outdone by his class and mouth of fangs.

In a whirl of smoke, a Koopa draped in a baggy, blue wizard's robe and matching cap appeared. His eyes were hidden behind the thick, round-rimmed glasses on his nose. He was a Magikoopa. He was quite diminutive next to the bulbous dragon he knelt before and had a bit of hump."My lord," he said. "Kaorinite requests an audience with you."

Bowser gasped; his eyes widened. He reached behind and pulled out a small hand mirror and inspected his hair and teeth. "Uh… yes… Kaorinite. Send her in, Kamek."

Kamek disappeared in a swirl. A moment later, the grand oak does opened. From the increasingly growing gap in the seam of the doors, Kaorinite's dark and pale Dathomirian figure developed. The voluptuous dark witch in her form fitting black dress and bountifully displayed cleavage walked along the scarlet trail to the king with her long and gorgeous bright crimson hair billowing behind her. Bowser straightened himself upright in his throne and looked at her with all the composure he could muster while his eyes bopped up and down between her eyes and her breasts.

"Lord Bowser, I am pleased to announce that my associate, Asajj Ventress, and your son have successfully capture Princess Peach," she said.

"That's great!" he bellowed in laughter.

"Unfortunately, they were followed by several pests, some of who I believe you have encountered in the past."

Bowser stopped laughing immediately and lowered his head, staring at her in displeased anxiety. "Who exactly?"

"The plumber brothers Mario and Luigi," she answered. "They have already made it on the castle's grounds.

Bowser roared angrily. "I'm sending my units to squash these pests!"

"Allow me to provide the services of my associates to assist you," Kaorinite added coolly, "for the plumbers are accompanied by agents who will cause you more harm than you will anticipate."

"Alright," he agreed.

As Kaorinite left, Bowser stared after her. When the grand doors close behind her, she stopped walking. "You know what to do."

"But of course," said a sultry voice from the shadows. Lust, one of the seven Homunculi under Kaorinite's employ, stepped forth into the light of a nearby touch. Long, wavy, flowing ebony hair, snowy pale skin, tight, blackish brown-red, latex dress with matching high-heeled boots and shoulder-length gloves, an Ouroboros tattoo above her stunning cleavage: she was a monster scalped into a beautiful woman. "Gluttony and I will take care of those Sailor Soldiers." She gave Kaorinite a peculiar look, which Kaorinite noticed.

"What is it?"

"It isn't much," Lust answered with a shrug. "I'm just surprised by your choice of pawns."

"I know that the Koopa Troop doesn't look like much, but their sheer numbers and gullibility makes them quite useful. Also, Bowser has a lot of potential. He wields powerful magic that we can use. Besides, it's fun to string men along with a carrot on a string."

Lust snickered and flipped her hair with her hand. "I definitely agree."

It was quiet mostly, save for the gurgling of the lava lake that surround the castle and the aggravated rumble of the dark clouds in the ochre sky. The black flags with a white faces of the castle's lord billowed sluggishly in the wind. Those faces stared down at the downed ship, keeping their eyes on it as they went about their normal routines, but their intrigue in the crash slowed their proficiency.

"Well, this sucks," said Sailor Jupiter.

"What are we going to do?" gasped Luigi, shivering and with teeth-chattering.

"Yeah!" added Sailor Moon in panic. "What are we going to do?"

"What we were trained to do," answered Mars. "We get out there, bust some a**, raid that castle, and save the princess. We've done it before. Now, stop being a crybaby."

"True," Sailor Moon said softly, scratching her head. She pumped her fists. "Yes! We can do this. Let's get out there and show this turtle king what the Sailor Senshi can do. Galactic Republic, represent!" She grabbed her tiara. "Moon Tiara Action!"

As she flung the tiara turn energy disc at the windshield of the shuttle, blowing it open. She leapt out first and the other girls followed. All of them struck intimidating pose when they stuck their landings, ready for a big fight. Unfortunately, or fortunately, it didn't look like they would get one. In front of them stood scatter clusters of very perplexed Koopa Troopas and Goombas (brown, mushroom-like creatures, standing to the size of an adolescent human child, with faces and feet but no arms). They were all just stood there with gaping mouths, unarmed too. The Sailor Soldiers stood there too, feeling really awkward at the sight of these pitiful guards.

"Uh… is this it?" Venus asked.

Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi leapt out of the shuttle and charged into the crowds of enemy spectators. Mario landed the first blow. Upon stomping down on a Goomba it was defeated and puffed into a small puff of smoke.

"They are a lot of them, and we could use your help!" Yoshi called to the girls.

The girls just stood there, feeling really awkward as they watched those three cartoonish heroes punch and kick and stomp on the cartoonish henchmen. "Yeah." They then dispersed and faced the enemy. It was too easy. They didn't even need to use their powers. All it took were swift kicks and hard punches to knock these Koopas down and make them cower in their shells. The Goombas were even easier, and spun like tops when knocked backwards onto their "heads". Things did become slightly more challenging when Hammer Bros. and Boomerang Bros., Koopa Troopas who wore helmets and wielded the weapon that matched their titles. Though they did seem to have more training and were specialized to a degree, Hammer Bros. seemingly haphazardly chucked their hammers upwards, hoping the hammers' arcs would end on a target. Sailor Mercury was targeted by a pair of them. With an upward swipe of her arms, she sent out two arcs of water that caught the hammers and froze them in place. The two Hammer Bros. gasped as she lunged forth, punching one square in the jaw while jutting her leg back sharply to nail the other one. A Boomerang Bro. threw one of his big boomerangs at Sailor Jupiter. She swiftly bent backwards and caught the boomerang in its arch and then threw it right back at the flabbergasted Koopa, knocking him out cold.

Then, from up on top of a nearby wall, two Koopas began throwing down Bom-ombs, which were sentient, circular, blackish-blue bombs with fuses, windup keys sticking out of their backs, two white eyes, and two orange feet. With their fusses lit, they hobbled towards their enemies.

"Are those walking bombs?" Sailor Moon shrieked.

"Get rid of those guys fast before they blow up near us!" Yoshi hollered.

"I got this!" Sailor Mars announced, readying her attack. "Burning Mandala!" She fired eight rings of fire that disperse into a spray and caught all the approaching Bom-ombs. The flurry of explosions kicked up dust nearly up to the walls, but it wasn't high enough to hide the Koopa Troopas who had been chucking the bombs. Yoshi caught a nearby Koopa Troopa with his tongue and locked it in his mouth. He armed and spit out the shell forcefully and stuck the two Koopas.

"Nice shot!" Sailor Moon cheered. When the dust settled, it was apparent that they had successfully cleared the courtyard. "That was pretty easy." Sailor Moon happily put her hands on her hips and a smile on her face.

"What would the Dark Kingdom want with these guys?" Jupiter said, pondering the answer. "There must be something here we're missing."

"I don't know why you're complaining," said Sailor Moon dismissively.

Suddenly, they all heard a loud stomp. And then another one sounded; this one seemed to come closer and was accompanied by the sound of cracking bricks.

"Look!" called Luigi, pointing up to a battlement.

Up, raising high up into the sky was huge rectangular hunk of wall that was wobbling close to edge before…. POOM! It fell to the ground and landed on its feet. Standing twenty feet-tall was… a wall, a perfectly rectangular segment of wall with two fists extending out of the thin, vertical sides and flat, block feet poking out from the bottom edge. Nearly from edge to edge was a gaping mouth, which took up half of the wall's surface, bearing five crooked, seemingly bashed out of a prettier place, square teeth. The top half of its face was dominated a pair of big, red, crisscrossing eyes and eyebrow cravings carved into an angry look. It wobbled toward the heroes. With feet but no legs, it was as slow and hulking movement of left corner, right corner, and repeat.

"Holy cr*p!" Sailor Moon gasped. "We're getting attacked by a wall? Really? A wall?"

"It's a Whomp," said Luigi, quivering.

"Stand back, ladies," said Mario, staring up at that wall of angry face. "I'll take care of this." The stalky man dash forward and stopped in the shadow of the Whomp.

"What is he doing?" said Mercury.

"Oh, I think we have more problems," said Mars.

Up out of the ground popped miniature versions of the same monster. These were the size of a person with all the features of the full-size monster tuned down to cute levels. However, these were faster, much faster. Yoshi leapt onto one and bashed to pebbles with repeated flurries of kicks. Luigi shot like a rocket and smashed one with his head. Since those two seemed to have things under control, the girls shifted their attention to Mario and the Whomp. The Whomp did a short hop up and then came slamming down onto its own face with Mario right there.

"Mario!" screamed Sailor Moon.  
>"Get out of their!" called Sailor Mars.<p>

The Whomp came down and made a loud, aggravated "erg" sound. The girls watched in shock. Suddenly, Mario, walking up the incline of the Whomp's foot, appeared on the Whomps back. On the center of the Whomps back was a symbol decorated with cracks. Mario jumped up into the air and then slammed down onto the Whomp with his bottom. The Whomp groaned with an "ugh" and then shattered into puffs of white smoke. Wide-eyed were the Sailor Soldiers. Luigi and Yoshi returned after cleaning up the smaller monsters.

"We took care of the Whimps," Yoshi said to Mario. "_Now_, that's all of 'em. Let's get inside the castle now and save the princess."

Mario nodded and led his brother and friend to a nearby door with the Sailor Soldiers staring after them in bamboozlement for a few seconds before apathetically following them. Eyes were watching them enter the castle from a window in an adjacent tower.

"I still don't understand what Kaorinite wants with these pathetic saps," said Lust, leaning her arm against the stone windowsill. "What a sad display?"

"So sad," complimented Gluttony, who knelt beside her with his big, round nose on the windowsill.

"It looks like we're up."

"Oh goody! I'm so hungry."

"Luuuusssttt…" wailed a cackling voice.

Lust turned around nonchalantly. "Oh. It's you." Her tone reflected her boredom. "What do you want, King Boo?"

The voice of the cloaked owner answered. "Bowser thinks it is best for a trusted associate to accompany you into battle against the Mario Brothers."

This plucked at Lust's nerves. "Does he now?" She folded her arms under her bosom. "It doesn't seem like it matters whether or not Bowser's forces are there since those plumbers have trounced the Koopa King and his forces time and time again, and that includes you."

"You don't have to be so negative," the voices said with a tinge of embarrassment. "Perseverance can do wonders, you know?"

Lust gave him a pity smile. "Come along if you want. Like I said, it won't matter if you are there or not. Come, Gluttony."

"Yes, Lust."

The voice grew agitated. "I'll show you, missy."

The heroes were inside the castle now. So far, it didn't seem out of the ordinary from other devious, menacing castles owned by megalomaniacs. Light, of course, was something of a luxury and natural daylight was far too much of a froufrou. Torches nailed to the rough, stone walls gave the only light, ochre light. Where they were though had a lot of touches patterned evenly along the walls so it wasn't a gumshoe's mission just to find the next thing a meter or so away. Brimstone was the most pungent smell of all of them, stronger than that of fear. It wasn't a chilling place but instead provided a stifling heat. Perhaps it was a gift from the lake of fire around them? Aesthetically, everything fit the mold.

"Wow," said Sailor Venus without a bit of enthusiasm. "This place is pretty ordinary on the inside."

"Just you wait, Miss," said Luigi, walking close by to both Yoshi and Mario. "This place isn't what it seems."

"All of his castles are like that," added Mario. "Even his children take after their father in interior design."

"Children?" repeated Sailor Moon in shock. "You mean there's more than one."

"Eight in all," popped Yoshi.

Sailor Moon looked at a statuette of the Koopa King that sat atop a pedestal. "I find it hard to believe that he had kids. Maybe Mrs. Koopa has some weird taste?"

"I have an idea of who gave birth to Bowser's children," said Yoshi. "It might be – "

A thud and a shake ended the conversation.

"What was that?" asked Sailor Jupiter.

"I'm guessing a Thwomp," said Mario.

"What is a Thwomp?" asked Sailor Mercury.

"Bowser likes to have them as decoration/guards for his castles," answered Yoshi innocently.

"We don't care if Bowser puts them next to tasteful coffee tables," Sailor Mars said with frustration after feeling the rumble after another thud. "What is – "

SMASH! A stone the size of a person crashed down right in front of the group. It seemed to have an aggravated face on it. Grey and decorated with dulled spikes on the edges save for the "face" edge and the one opposite that one. It jutted up in an arch way from them and landed down the dimly-lit hallway.

"Was that a Thwomp?" asked Sailor Venus.

"No. That was a Thwimp," Mario answered. "Thwomps are bigger, much bigger."

"Thwomps...Thwimps…" When Sailor Mars repeated those words, she felt stupid. "How big is a Thwomp?"

Mario cradled his chin the arch between his gloved thumb and index finger. "Two thirds as tall as a Whomp."

"I should ask Sam for some green eggs and ham," Sailor Venus inserted cutely and jokingly.

The Thwimp slammed down on the same spot it did earlier.

"It seems to hop back and forth to the same places…if we avoid where it lands, we should be fine," Mercury suggested. "We can see the cracks in the floor to see where it lands."

The group of heroes continued to walk forward. Sailor Jupiter felt something tap her shoulder. She brushed her shoulder, and by feeling nothing she dismissed it as nothing. Then, when she felt that tap again, she thought it was Sailor Moon. "What is it, Sailor Moon?" she said, not looking back to see if was really her.

"I'm right here," Sailor Moon answered looking back at her.

At this point, Sailor Jupiter realized that she was at the end of the procession of heroes, which caused her to become nervous. She slowly turned around and found yellow eyes in the sockets of a skeletal Koopa Troopa's face. Sailor Jupiter gasped and kicked it right in the chest. The skeletal body crashed onto the floor in pieces.

"What the hell was it?" Jupiter yelled.

"A Dry Bones," said Yoshi.

"Well," said Jupiter, "at least they are flimsy."

Right at the end of that sentence, the skeletal remains chattered and, like pieces of a puzzle, step by step, danced up back into place to reform the Dry Bones. Now, a few more began to creep out of the shadows; their bones clicking and clacking as they walked.

The team of heroes backed up.

"Oh… this day just keeps getting more annoying," whined Sailor Moon. "There better be cake after this."

When a huge thump sounded, she jumped into the air with a fright. When she saw what made the noise, she screamed highly. With a face so angry and with perfect teeth, a Thwomp, bigger than a Thwimp, but not so big as Whomp, was right near them, staring down at them, eager for them to mosey below it.

"Let's move!" called Mercury, signaling the others.

They ran off away from the Dry Bones and Thwomp only to find more Thwomps in their path as well as what appeared to be links of fireballs in chain, called Firebars, rotating on posts. Jumping, ducking, and running: it was a peril to get down this massive corridor. Even the statuettes of Bowser were deadly, firing fireballs in repeated intervals.

"It's like everything in this castle is trying to kill us!" cried Sailor Moon. After jumping up and over a stone platform that was preceded by a small set of stairs, she found that the platform was lifting her up, and she screamed.

"Sailor Moon!" called Sailor Mercury, who was ahead with the others. "You're standing on a Thwomp!"

She was. "I know now!" she cried back.

It slammed down onto the ground below, which rattled her, but she was fine nonetheless. She skipped off of it and ran to catch up with the other girls.

Meanwhile, Kaorinite watched the events in her crystal ball, enthralled by the droll plight of the heroes, particularly her nemeses, the Sailor Senshi.

"The obstacles of the castle are proving to give these troublesome pests a run for their money and me with one hell of a show." She laughed. The image in the ball was taken by fog and altered to now display Lust. "Enjoyable semantics aside, it's your time to move."

"Understood," Lust answered.

"Right now, I have an audience with the Koopa King and the Mushroom Princess. Make sure those idiots don't make it to the throne room."

"You're going to have to be more specific than that. The king's men fall under the same category."

Kaorinite laughed and flipped her glorious, scarlet hair. "I'll narrow it down: the ones in the skirts."

Just then, Bowser appeared in the door way. The dark witch eyed him and immediately picked up on his boyish timidity. With arms crossed in front of her bumptious bosom, she looked back at him. "What do you want?"

"Umm… Miss Kaorinite… I was just wondering." As he spoke, his two index fingers bounced off one another at the tips. "I know that I have my feelings for Peach and all…" He looked to the side, away from her gaze. "But you're really pretty."

Kaorinite threw up a little bit in her mouth. "What?"

"You see, I'm a man with a lot of prospects. I have a kingdom, multiple castles, nice galaxy-front property, and eight kids; I'm a busy Koopa."

"Eight?" repeated Kaorinite in dull shock. "You mean there are seven more of your spawn running around this castle."

"I don't know where they are."

"How do you not know where your children are?"

"There are eight of them! Do you really expect me to keep tabs on all of them?"

Kaorinite was really becoming annoyed and nauseous. "If you excuse me, I must contact Mystique. I will see you soon in the throne room to greet the princess. Now, if you please… go away."

Bowser, rosy cheeked, backed out of the doorway and left.

The heroes stood with a door to their backs, panting.

"Okay," said Sailor Jupiter to Mario. "You have fought Bowser before and gone through his crazy castles. What else should we be expecting?"

"Expect anything," he answered. "Every one of his castles is different from the last."

"Great…" said Sailor Moon with defeat in her voice.

"At least this one doesn't have Boos," said Luigi.

"Boos?" repeated Sailor Jupiter. "What are Boos?"

"I hope they aren't what I think they are," said Sailor Mars, annoyed.

Luigi started to quake with fear and bit on the gloved tips of his fingers. "They're ghosts."

"Yeah, I was right."

"Ghosts aren't a big deal for us," said Sailor Venus with a confident wink. "Magic, energy: it doesn't take a lot to get rid of one, a weak on at least."

"We still aren't hoping for ghosts," added Sailor Mercury. "If we should encounter… um… a Boo, what does one look like?"

"S-s-scary," Luigi chattered.

"Ugh…" uttered Sailor Mars, feeling Sailor Moon up against her back. "Don't be suck a crybaby."

"I'm not being a crybaby," she whined. "Scary things are just… scary."

"You don't even know what it looks like."

"I know it's scary-looking."

"I know you're a crybaby!"

"May we please move on?" Sailor Mercury interjected, coming between the bickering girls.

"Fine," they answered grudgingly in unison.

As they progressed down the corridor, the torchlight became scarcer and scarcer until the path in front of them was black.

"I don't think we passed any Bulb Berries or Question Blocks on the way," Yoshi said. "How are we going to see where we are going?"

"Leave that to us," said Sailor Mars, stepping in to the darkness with Sailor Jupiter. Mars opened her palm and created a small flame to sit in her palm. Jupiter created a ball of electricity at the tip of her index finger.

"That works," Mario affirmed.

The heroes continued onward. Surprisingly but fortunately, they hadn't encountered any adversary.

"It's eerily quiet," commented Venus. "After the last hallway we ran through, I was expecting some more things to come out of nowhere and attack us."

"Something isn't right here," Sailor Mars said looking to each side. "Stay alert. I'm getting some bad vibes."

Again, Sailor Moon fell behind a few steps. The dead air of the corridor was beginning to unhinge her nerves. A creeping, floating menace seemed to be following her, greeting the hairs at attention on the back of her neck with cold air. That chill seemed to be following her at a pace that was gradually shrinking the distance between them. Sailor Moon spun around. Nothing. Nothing was there. She then turned around, and when she did, the Boo became visible. This white ghost, like a bloated, spherical, floating pillow case with grey eyes and a gaping open mouth, letting its big, pink tongue just hide out, stalked the group. Sailor Moon turned around. Putting up the façade of a frightened child, flushed cheeks and little, white arms over its face, the Boo suddenly became intangible. Nothing was there, but Sailor Moon kept looking in the Boos direction, convinced that something was there.

"Sailor Moon, what are you looking at?" asked Mercury.

"Uh… nothing… I think."

When she turned her back to it, the Boo reappeared and returned to stalking her, getting closer and closer. In a quick movement, Sailor Moon turned to the side. Right before the Boo hid himself once again, she caught site of the white figure in the corner of her eyes. Something was there; she knew it. _How can I get it to reveal itself?_ She thought. _I know._ Down the hall were a few aesthetic columns. Quickly, she slid behind one and waited. To her fortune, the Boo, visible to all, continued to stalk the group, neglecting the hiding girl out of quite possibly simple-mindedness. The moment it passed her, Sailor Moon leapt from behind the pillow and shouted, "Gotcha!" The rest of the heroes turned around and saw the Boo. There were stares exchanged in the silence.

"Uhh... you can see me, can't you?" the Boo uttered awkwardly.

The heroes nodded.

"Well," said the Boo with a shrugged of his stubby, cone-shaped arms, "I guess there's no use in hiding."

Suddenly, swarms of Boos, each one a beach ball in size, manifested behind the Boo out from the darkness, all with menacing faces and slobbering, loose-hanging tongues, all cackling.

"Aw nuts!" gasped Sailor Moon.

Luigi and Yoshi screamed and ran away.

"And you said I was scared crybaby?" Sailor Moon said haughtily to Sailor Mars.

The ghosts came gliding down to attack. It was not hard to beat them away. After all, they merely possessed tiny arms and attacked just by tackling. Sailor Venus bashed one in the face with a swinging kick, sending up back and knocking into Boos, scattering them like billiard balls hit by a cue ball. Upon doing it herself, Sailor Jupiter started to enjoy this.

"This is actually kind of fun," said Sailor Jupiter. "Let's make a game of it, shall we?"

"You got it," cheered Venus. "I can't wait to exercise my volleyball skills a little."

"We should grab Luigi and Yoshi before they get into trouble," suggested Sailor Mercury.

"AAHH!"

"Sounds like they are already in trouble," scoffed Mars.

Sailor Moon, Mercury, Mars, and Mario continued down the pitch-dark hall while Venus and Jupiter made a sport out of fighting the Boos. Of course, Mars led the way with a flame in her palm. Soon, they came upon the two green pals sitting on the floor in a catatonic state with their eyes transfixed on something.

"Luigi, what is it? Mercury asked him, shaking his shoulder.

"Look!" shouted Mars, pointing up.

They found, hovering up in the darkness, aglow with the foggy white radiance of his ghostly aura, an above-average-sized Boo wearing a crown.

"Welcome to Bowser's Castle, Sailor Soldiers!" boomed the Boo. "I am King Boo, King of the Boos!"

"So, you are one of Bowser's allies?" questioned Mars.

"Give the little lady a prize!" he cheered condescendingly. "And here Kaorinite said you girls have Dotted Line Blocks where your brains should be."

"Ugh, you are rude," said Sailor Mercury, effectively steamed.

"You seem angry," said King Boo. "How about a dance?" Balls of ghastly blue fire came raining down out of his wide mouth. Sailor Moon screamed, "Hot! Hot!" as she danced around the balls of fire. Mario jumped up onto some blocks to get to one gold-colored one with a white question mark on it. It was a Question Block. Hitting it would reveal a mystery prize. Meanwhile, Sailor Mercury had enough.

"You won't get away with scaring us and insulting us," she announced. "Shine Aqua Illusion!" She fired a stream of water that blocked the spraying fireballs in a stalemate.

Mario jumped up and hit the Question Bow and up from the box sprang a Fire Flower, a flower of red and yellow and a white center with two bright eyes. The moment Mario touched it, it caused his outfit to change color scheme, switching the blue to red and the red to white; he had been transformed into Fire Mario, granting him the ability to throw fireballs from his hands. With his eyes on the prize and his arm cocked back for a fast pitch, fireballs flew from Mario's hand, one at a time with each pitch, and bashed into the Boo, making him scream out in pain. "AAAH! IT'S HOT!" He shoved his flaming arms into his big mouth to extinguish them.

"For a king of ghosts, you are surprisingly lame," Mars said confidently.

"No fair!" he shouted in frustration. "If my Boos were here, I'd be stronger, but you darn Sailor Soldiers kept them away.

Just then, Sailor Venus and Sailor Jupiter returned.

"Did we miss one?" asked Jupiter, looking at King Boo.

"My, my…"

Everyone looked at the doorway. Fighting King Boo had made the heroes completely oblivious to the fact that they had reached the end of the hallway. Before the scarlet door, tall and wide as it stood with its hard-nail fastening, border finish stood Lust.

"Lust!" called Sailor Moon in shock.

"Lust, I was just about to show these pests some real Boo power," King Boo said frantically. "All I need is to – "

"Save it," Lust cut him off.

Yoshi leaned in close to Sailor Mercury. "Umm… Do you know her?" He looked her up and down. "She is awfully pretty."

"You're right with the "awful" part," chimed in Mars.

Lust heard this and became amused for about a second. She honed in her stare at her hated enemy, the Sailor Senshi. "I see that even bamboozling traps and moronic henchmen just aren't enough to kill you girls."

'"_Moronic_'!" boomed King Boo. He darted down and stopped right in front of her face. He was mad. His eyes were steaming red. His mouth was stretched into wider and more atrocious grimace. "I have had it with you insulting me! I am the King Boo, leader of the Boos!"  
>Lust just stood there silently with a poker face.<p>

"You think that you can just do whatever you want with your sultry voice, pretty, and boobs – " He was cut off again. This time, he was cut off by the sound of something soft getting pieced by something sharp. Sticking out of his back were two, frighteningly sharp, blood-red nails.

"Well, King Boo, I have gotten sick of your whining," Lust retracted her extendable nails, and the king's body burst in a puff of smoke, leaving only his gaudy crown behind.

"She took him out," said Luigi lowly, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Thank goodness," said Lust dryly. "Now, perhaps we can get things done." The grand scarlet and bolt door behind her cringed opened, and a fiery blast of window marched through and assaulted all in the corridor. Passed the dark, shape figure that was Lust was a chamber of intense heat and fire. The ground floor of the chamber, which was several meters below the level they were on, was searing lava, yet yellow blocks laid out in rows and cluster were raised up above the lava to make different floors and platforms. Podoboos, small flame creatures shaped like masks made of fire, hopped out of the lava pool and fell back down into it. Columns, complete and broken, ran down the immense hall as though to have been seen as prestigious decoration before the lava over too so much of the aesthetic charm of the hall. Dry Bones patrolled the block-made levels wearily. Lust, aglow from the hellfire backdrop behind her, beckoned the heroes to come through the gate, slowly stepping back through it. "The princess is waiting just at the other end of this hall. Come and rescue her if you can." When she stopped walking, her body continued moving back, for she had stepped on a Snake Block. The four-block-wide, moving platform carried her away, further egging on the heroes to come into the inferno.


	4. Chapter 4

Sailor Moon Chronicles R

Floating above Disaster

The Fight to Bowser's Throne Room

Meanwhile in Bowser's throne room, the Koopa King sat on his grand throne and in muted glee watched Princess Peach enter. Kamek stood a few paces to Bowser's left while Kaorinite stood to the king's right. Led by a paired procession of Asajj Ventress and Bowser Jr. the soft-hearted, pretty-in-pink princess of a dreamland kingdom, sullen-faced, walked in grim pageant down the crimson aisle.

"Welcome, Princess," announced Bowser when the parade ended at the foot of the steps leading to his throne. "To what do I how the honor?"

"You kidnapped her," Kaorinite answered plainly.

Bowser, not hearing her answer, gave his own answer. "Me! I brought you here, so the honor is mine. Now, to get down to business…"

"A wondrous day indeed for the Dark Kingdom and Koopa Troop," said Ventress, "for today, the Mushroom Kingdom will be ours."

"That isn't why I want Peach here," said Bowser.

"Come again," added Kaorinite, surprised.

"Peach, today is the day you will finally back me a big and delicious cake!" Bowser boomed in joy.

"…What?" Kaorinite said with a dropped jaw.

"She bakes the best cakes, but I have never been invited to the castle to have some," he whined in roar. "Mario and Luigi get cakes baked for them, but I don't!"

Kaorinite, with her forehead cradled in her palm, stood there in silent disbelief. "Are you trying to say to me that we went through all of this bulls*** for cake?"

"It's good cake. Say, can you bake, Kaori?"  
>Right before, Kaorinite could say something, a Hammer Bro. dashed through the chamber and knelt before the king, panting. "My king, the Mario Bros. and the Sailor Soldiers are currently engaging Lust and Gluttony in the hall leading to this chamber!"<p>

The king growled. "The Mario Bros. defeated King Boo, did they? Humf! Kamek!"

"Yes, my king?" Kamak said, bowing to Bowser.

"Go and stop those meddlesome plumbers so that Peach can bake my cake."

"I am beginning to think this is more trouble than it's worth," Kaorinite sighed.

"Allow me to assist, King Bowser," Ventress said with a calm bow. "I will end the Sailor Soldiers."

Meanwhile in the battle, a bolt of lightning flashed and struck the Snake Block, making the blocks that comprised it break apart and fall into the lava. Lust had leapt off just in time and landed on a nearby platform of blocks. Sailor Mars hopped on Yoshi, and with his sticky, stretchy tongue, he latched onto the platform and climbed up onto it with Sailor Mars.

"Get them, Gluttony!" Lust called.

The bulbous monstrosity with gorilla arms and fat gut came crashing down from the layer of blocks above them. "Oh boy!" he cheered looking at Yoshi. "Cajun food!" His fat, slobbering tongue lapped the side of his face as he changed forth. Yoshi dodged to the side while Sailor Mars jumped up, slammed her fits into the back of his head, knocking him into a skid on his stomach, and launched a stream of fire into his back, setting him on fire when she landed. The beast howled in pain, but quickly got back on to his feet with the flames still searing his flesh. With red sparks jumping on his body, the burns were healing promptly.

"How can he just shake that off?" Yoshi gasped astonishment.

"He's a Homunculus," said Mars, "just like that woman."

"You really should be paying more attention!" Lust's nails shot forth for the raven-haired Mars.

"Venus Love-Me Chain!"

The golden chain broke the nails into pieces. Lust recoiled and saw the fireballs Mario had thrown at her just in time to lunge out of the way. The rest of the heroes had made it up to her level.

"Lust!" called Sailor Moon. "Surrender!"

In a puff of smoke, Kamek appeared between Lust and the heroes. After a quick swirl of his magic scepter, he launched diverging blasts of swirling circles, squares, and triangles at the blocks above them. The two blocks hit transformed into two yellow-shelled Koopa Troopas, which fell to ground and attacked. Luigi and Sailor Venus met them head on while Sailor Mercury slipped through the ruckus and sent a wave of bubbles at Kamek to ensnare him. In a poof, he disappeared, avoiding the bubble attack and reappeared hovering up in the air at her flank where he hit her with a magic blast, sending her onto her side.

"Mercury!" called out Sailor Moon.

Lust took the advantage of this and stuck the blocks above Sailor Mercury with her nails to get them to fall. Sailor Mars dashed for Mercury and shoved her out of the way of the crumbling blocks, so both were safe. In the meantime, Lust had made it up onto another platform and was continuing to gain distance.

"We'll stop her!" called Sailor Jupiter, heading after Lust with Mario and Luigi.

"Are you okay?" Mars asked Mercury.

"Yes," said Mercury weakly with a nod, slowly getting up.

Gluttony was still eyeing Yoshi with drool oozing out of this mouth.

"Yoshi," Sailor Venus said, "I will help you take this creep. I'll need a ride though." She turned to her friends. "I'll be careful. Take care of the wizard guy."

Sailor Moon nodded.

"Hop on!" he said gleefully.

Sailor Venus got onto the saddle, and as soon as they were off, Gluttony pursued them.

Kamek reappeared and shot several blasts of magic at the heroes.

"This is so scary!" cried Sailor Moon, running back and forth to avoid the polygonal blasts.

Kamek then hit one of the yellow blocks above Sailor Moon, turning into a yellow-shelled Koopa Troopa that fell on top of her. The two awkwardly rolled around; they stopped the Koopa Troopa on top. He tried to get his small hands around her neck.

Right when the Kamek flung his scepter back to fling a magic blast at Sailor Moon, a darting object struck his hand, forcefully knocking the scepter away. "What was that?" he moaned, rubbing his hand. He then looked down and found that he was hit by a rose.

Sailor Moon punched the Koopa Troopa in the face and threw him off of her. She looked up and smiled with shining eyes when she saw that Tuxedo Mask had arrived. "Tuxedo Mask!"

Kamek saw the billowing cape and the handsome figure on a nearby platform. "Who are you?"

"The wicked wizard at the hand of the evil kind, the damsel in distress, the brave heroes: all of these are elements of tale that I, Tuxedo Mask, will guarantee has a happy ending."

Standing beside him was Sailor Saturn (Zoey Yuki), wielding her Silence Glaive. "Soldier of destruction and rebirth, and not happy to have been pulled away from wedding cake tasting with her fiancé, I am Sailor Saturn, appearing epically.

Kamek, confused, just gawked at them.

"Death Reborn Revolution!"

Sailor Saturn threw a sphere of refulgent purple energy forth like a Poké Ball but with far more intensity and struck the Magikoopa nicely. He comically floated down to the ground and then fell onto his back after a spin and teleported away in another puff of smoke.

Meanwhile, Lust had found herself at a dead end on a platform situated near the far left wall. Sailor Jupiter, Mario, and Luigi quickly caught up to her.

"Stand down, Lust!" Jupiter ordered.

The Homunculus turned and faced them silently, jabbing into her pursuers with her sharp, unfeeling eyes. Jupiter was poised, ready to shoot out a bolt of lightning, but waited first for Lust's move. Interestingly, she hadn't made one yet. Something was amiss to Sailor Jupiter, but it soon became clear when she heard the blocks crashed into the floor of the platform they were standing on, even Mario was struck and knocked back, losing his power-up and returning to his normal form. After leaping out of the way of an incoming block and zapping another one into pieces with a small lightning shot, Sailor Jupiter saw that one an adjacent platform raised above their level stood Asajj Ventress. The heat that rose from the lava ruffled her long, black skirt. The gentle whips teased away the silence; her pale blue eyes, even from far away, smiled with sadism, which made Luigi sweat more than the heat did.

"Who is that?" he asked Sailor Jupiter.

"Ventress…" she heaved. At the moment, she was trying to mask her own anxiety, for she had never faced Ventress alone and remembered how, even in a group, Ventress proved quite formidable.

The sultry, bold femme fatale spoke, "Pathetic… It's truly pathetic… pathetic that the heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom, Bowser's archenemies… are plumbers."

"Well, I have a question for you," blurted out Luigi insolently. The sudden bravado was definitely brought on only by his sheer discomfort. "Are you a man or a woman?"

Ventress was speechless

"Luigi!" scolded Mario. "That's rude. Maybe he or she is like Birdo?"

A vain popped. Ventress ignited her dual lightsabers.

"Now you've done it," Jupiter sighed.

Ventress leapt up with a jaguar's intensity and darkness. The whipping of her black skirt quickened into the pace heard at torture chamber. The three heroes scattered to avoid her when she landed. Her attention fell squarely on Mario and Luigi. Both of those stout plumbers were whisked around her by the swings of her lightsabers. The men jumped and wiggled around the assailant. To her surprise, in fact, they were actually alive longer than five seconds. Sailor Jupiter, out of Ventress's sights, charged up an attack.

"Don't forget that you have two opponents!" called Lust, her nails shooting forth.

Sailor Jupiter stretched out of the way and nearly was pieced through her stomach. Sailor Jupiter quickly got into a strong pose, and…

"Sparkling Wide Pressure!"

The orb of lightning she flung nailed Lust in the stomach, lift her up off the floor and across the platform over the lava and into a wall. Stunned with red sparks, crawling around her, gravity pried her off of the wall and pushed her into a kiss with the blocks of the platform that caught her.

Meanwhile, Ventress found herself in pursuit of the two plumbers. Easily, she caught up to them and even found them on a platform made of dark blue Grab Blocks, guarded by three Mecha-Koopas. The mechanical monsters looked like really slapdash replicas of Bowser with windup keys jutting out of their backs and eyes that would not agree on one location to view. Luigi jumped on one, stunning it, and then grabbed it and kicked it toward Ventress. She raised her hand and caught it with the Force nearly effortlessly. Stunned, Luigi didn't see that a nearby Mecha-Koopa was getting ready to breathe fire. Mario hopped up on into the air and slammed down on his bottom onto the shell of the robot and crushed it onto a puff of smoke. Ventress came down to their level with her lightsabers crossed, whipping them around and missing her targets and destroying the remaining Mecha-Koopa. In a lightning fast moment, Mario performed a Super Jump Punch; with amazing force for what he is, his uppercut punch, hitting her stomach, and jump forced her up into the air and knocked her lightsabers out of her hands. She met her equilibrium quickly and landed square on her feet only to have Luigi meet her with his eyes closed and his arms flailing and whacking her. Within a flash, Ventress undid the tuck of her skirt and wrapped up Luigi in the black fabric. After letting the flailing, wrapped plumber squirm for a second to enjoy the sight, she, with mighty force, sent the plumber flying off of the platform. Mario gasped. Suddenly, Luigi's bounds were undone and, miraculously, he used the black skirt as a parachute. The rising hot air coming off of the sweltering lava lifted him up, and he sailed blissfully to the safety of a platform. After he signed in relief, Mario leered at Ventress, taking a fighting stance. Ventress quickly brought her lightsabers into her hands with the force, ignited them, and struck a pose. Ventress lunged forth and swung as swiftly as a scorpion. To her dismay, Mario knew much more about the elements around them. He picked up one of the Grab Blocks that made up the platform they were standing on and kicked it towards her. The once blue block flashed in rainbow colors and slide quicker than a blade across a sheet of ice. Ventress barely managed to side-step it in time, but she did catch the other one he kicked to her with the Force before it hit her. Upon looking to where the block came from, she found the space vacant. Mario had distracted her to go and jump onto a platform with a Question Block hovering above it in reach.

"You can't run," hissed Ventress, leaping up with a boost from the Force. Even though she landed on the platform, she didn't come in time to stop Mario from activating the Question Block and releasing a Super Mushroom from inside of it. Quickly, Mario grabbed it and received the power-up. The dramatic step by step shift in size ended with Mario becoming twice as tall as he normal was, dwarfing Ventress. Certainly taken aback, she was rattled when he jumped up and then slammed the ground with his bottom in a Ground Pound, shattering the blocks they stood on, making both of them fall down.

The two landed on a platform that was floating above the hot lava. Mario's awkward landing jolted him and deactivated his power-up, returning him to his normal size once again. The heat could definitely be felt here. The door to Bowser's throne room could be seen over Ventress's shoulder. Above and around, Thwomps stomped down onto stone platforms. Tox Boxes, creatures of similar composition but hollowed out with one side lacking a wall for safe passage inside and horrible face on the lateral surfaces, rolled along paths. These horrible, angry, hate-filled faces all seemed to look down at Mario with their ceaseless eyes. The infernal backlight of the molten death surrounding them came upon Ventress's thin, black frame and made the knife-like shoulders and black arm guards bloody.

"Now you die," she said curtly.

Right before either could make a move, Gluttony was seen sailing through the air. After his bottom hit the lava, he bounced off the lava and landed on their platform, hitting the floor with a run, a scream, flailing, and fire lit on his bottom.

"Hot, hot, hot, hot!" he screamed shrilly. He rampaged forth aimlessly with arms waving like flapping wings. The hootenanny ended when he slammed face first into a wall and collapse onto his back.

"Crescent Beam!"

"Fire Soul!"

A beam of light and a ball of fire crashed near Ventress, shattering the blocks around her and now leaving the assassin on a four-black island in the middle of the lava. The Sailor Soldiers, Tuxedo Mask, Luigi, and Yoshi had arrived.

"Ventress!" called Sailor Moon. "You're spree of wicked deeds ends here. In the name of the moon, we'll punish you!"

Ventress looked at her adversaries, fairly unmarred by how outnumbered she was. Upon hearing the stomp of a Thwomp behind her, she acted. Using the Force, she brought down the blocks holding up the Thwomp and, subsequently, the Thwomp. It hit the lava and provided a makeshift stepping stone to get up onto a nearby platform. Tuxedo Mask darted forth and met her on the sinking Thwomp. His extendable cane turned into a sword, which he swung at the lady assassin. Ventress met every one of his blows with her dual-wielded lightsabers. Her lightsabers crossed with Tuxedo Mask's sword pressing down on her, he was slowly yet forcefully pushing Ventress onto her back. Quickly falling back, Ventress caught his stomach with her boot and kicked him up over her. Free, she leapt up onto another platform while Tuxedo Mask turned his sword back into a cane and made it extend quickly into the lava. Like a pole-vaulter, he swung up on the rising rod and flung himself onto a platform.

"Ventress is escaping!" called Sailor Mars, leading the girls into a charge.

Suddenly, two Magikoopa appeared sending a spell each that turned a block of the platform into a yellow-shelled Koopa Troopa. Mario and Yoshi lunged forth without a word to the others. Mario hopped on Yoshi's back and rode him up onto a set of one-block steps that hovered above the lava. The two Magikoopas prepared an attack, and the yellow-shelled Koopa Troopas charged. Sailor Saturn swatted away both of the Koopa Troopas with a swing of the pole-arm weapon she wielded. Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mars sailed through the blazing air and delivered jump kicks to the two Magikoopas, defeating them.

"Over here!" called Luigi, who was standing on a moving Snake Block.

Ventress, now on the platform in front of the big door to the throne room and away from harm for a brief moment, activated her wrist communicator.

"Kaorinite," she said bitterly. "Lust, Gluttony, and Kamek have failed! They are almost to the throne room now."

"I trust that at least _you _won't fail, Asajj," said Kaorinite. "I want those Sailor sluts dead. Don't let them open that door."

"I will end their lives…" Ventress ended the talk when she ignited her lightsabers upon seeing Sailor Saturn.

"Stand down, assassin!" Sailor Saturn called as she posed with her Silence Glaive.

"Never!" Ventress retorted sharply. She came out Sailor Saturn with a fury and swung rapidly with an angry force. Sailor Saturn could just manage to block; there weren't any openings shown in the Dark Jedi's relentless strikes.

"Moon Tiara Action!"

Sailor Moon flung the rapidly spinning disc and caused the two combatants to separate. Now, Mario came soaring over Saturn's head. As soon as his feet touched the ground in front of Ventress, he whipped around in spiral with his arms spread wide with astonishing speed, creating a small tornado that whirled around him and picked up Ventress. Ending in a pose of glory with his legs and arms spread out, Mario completely the Mario Tornado, ejecting Ventress and her lightsabers up into the air. The unorthodox move with so bamboozling that Ventress's landing was far from graceful and gave off a hilarious thud. When she got up, she found six Sailor Soldiers and Mario staring her down. Immediately, she saw her where one of her lightsabers landed and quickly pulled it towards her with the Force. With lightning quick speed, Yoshi's tongue caught it and pulled it away from her. She saw her other one and tried to retract it to her, but in midair it was intercepted by a rose thrown by Tuxedo Mask. Now, she was unarmed, exhausted, and humiliated. It was a triple threat of failure.

"It's over," said Sailor Moon. "You failed, Skanktress."

Frustrated, Ventress growled. Suddenly, horribly loud and shatteringly harsh creaking noises rattled the battle-scarred hall. The grand door to the throne room was opening up behind Ventress and giving view to enormous grand hall. A chilling wind slithered out from the crack of the opening door. Seeing that her adversaries were distracted by the abrupt negation of her own objective, Ventress released a powerful Force wave that thrust them all back as though they were hit by a blast of wind. She quickly brought her lightsabers to her belt and retreated into the shadows of the throne room.


	5. Chapter 5

Sailor Moon Chronicles R

Battle against the King Bowser Koopa

The Amazing Smash Power

"At last," said Sailor Jupiter.

Down along the crimson carpet trail, up the short set of steps, sitting regally with the menacing glare of a tyrant on the throne built with the signature structures of a castle, was King Bowser Koopa. He let out a rolling bellow of laughter. Each laugh was the bang of a big, thunderous drum. "Isn't this quaint? My arch nemesis is here once again to ruin my plans… but this time, he has help from a bunch of girly-girls in frilly skirts."

"We're girly-girls that plowed through your forces," retorted Sailor Mars. "Now, release the princess. If you don't, we will chastise!"

Bowser bellowed humorously. "You might have defeated my minions, but I am a different animal."

"Didn't we fight Koopas all the way here?" commented Sailor Moon.

"Mario!" cried Peach, who stood inside a human-sized bird cage right beside Bowser's throne.

"Don't get too excited yet, princess," said Bowser, looking over his shoulder at her. "You still owe me a cake."

"Okay, seriously," said Jupiter. "What the f*** is up with this cake?"

"All of you have overstayed your welcome in my castle," he said, getting up out of his chair, "and now I'll pulverize you. I'll _Bowserize_ you!" With a huff and a puff, he fired off several big fireballs from his mouth that came rolling down the hall for the heroes, who readied themselves for the battle.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!"

The stream of water Sailor Mercury launched barely quenched the King's fireballs, which continued down the hallway.

"Let's fight fire with fire!" called Sailor Mars. "Burning Mandala!" Sailor Mars rapidly launched a barrage of fire rings that collided with the fireballs in a huge explosion of flames that cut off the heroes' view of Bowser.

"Where did he go?" said Sailor Venus urgently.

A whirling twister of fire formed in the wall of flames before a huge, rapidly spinning, spiked shell exploded out of the flames and came careening forth, getting corrected by hitting a pillar. And like a pinball machine, it was armed to smash into the targets.

"Whaa!" screamed Sailor Moon. "Get out of the way!"

The heroes burst apart when the shell had finally been angled to mow them down. Once Bowser, in his shell, missed, he bounced against the wall and headed back at them.

"Supreme Thunder!"

The bolt of lightning Sailor Jupiter fired struck the shell, but it failed in stopping it completely. On the contrary, now the spinning spiked shell was further armed with a whirling charged of electricity. Once again jumping out the way, the heroes avoided getting hit and watched the sparkling shell disappear into the flames. The signaling thundering roar released, causing the raging flames to dissipate instantly, revealed Bowser standing up right.

"He is strong," said Sailor Mercury. She addressed Mario. "How do we stop him?"

Mario looked intensely at Bowser and then to Peach and then back to Bowser. "Let me handle this." He stepped forth.

Bowser laughed. "If it isn't the bothersome plumber brother in the stupid red cap… It looks like we are going to settle this the old fashioned way. Fine with me."

"Do you really think he can take him?" said a worried Sailor Saturn.

"He held his own against Ventress by himself," said Sailor Jupiter. "That says something."

"Mario will beat him," said Yoshi confidently with his arms pumped. "He always does."

Meanwhile, Ventress hastily made her way to the starship Slave I, which was parked in a courtyard of the castle. Upon entering the ship's cockpit, she found Aurra Sing sitting at the controls while casually listening to _World is Mine_ by the Vocaloids, which she quickly shut off when Ventress arrived.

"I take it that it's not going well," Aurra said. The pale, near-human bounty hunter crossed her arms and smirked. "Kaorinite already told me to get the engine warmed up."

"I may have not rid us of those pests," said Ventress, "but if Kaorinite's faith in Bowser's potential is verified, then we still may get those twits out of our way for good. Then, we can finally carry out our operation a bit more smoothly before the Republic sends replacements."

"I just want to get off this rock soon," said Aurra, curling a long finger around one of her rust-colored braids. "It's all way to cutesy for my taste."

"Even the villains are adorable," Ventress said dryly, "not intimating at all."

Back at the battle…

Bowser spewed a stream of fire at the zigzagging plumber to no avail, for the jumpy plumber was quite quick and resilient to the intense heat. Since he found so much invigoration in releasing the destructive flames, before Bowser knew it, Mario had swung around the monstrous turtle and grabbed hold of his tail. Once the white gloved-hands held the scaly yellow tail, Bowser's stream of blazing fire ceased with a gasp as he was yanked back and fell onto his belly. Slowly, Bowser's big scaly slid along the floor; Mario, pivoting on his heels, whirled around and around. With each spin the spinning quickened and quickened, faster and faster. This diminutive man's strength was astounding, for he alone was able to lift the big, whopping monster of the ground and was singing around as though he were competing in a hammer throw event. The colors that made up Bowser all blurred into a smear of citrine above Mario. On a dime, Mario stopped spinning and released his grip on Bowser's tail, letting him soar roaring. His wailing, flailing flight sent him onto a pillar, making the pillar crack and crumble when into pieces on top of him when he collided with the floor with a boom. With gravel and dust blanketing him, Bowser groaned sluggishly and then burst out of the pile.

"Now is our chance!" called Sailor Moon. She grabbed her tiara and transformed it into a spinning disc. "Moon Tiara Action!" The tiara soared into the air and then stretched out into an arc that formed a ring and shrunk around Bowser, entrapping him.

"What is this?" roared Bowser, hopping around on his feet while trying to break the magical restraint.

Sailor Venus summoned her glistening, golden, luminous chain. "Venus Love-Me Chain!" She leapt up and sent the chain forth and struck Bowser right on his cheek, knocking him backwards onto his shell.

"We did it!" cheered Sailor Moon.

Tuxedo Mask, meanwhile, had snuck over to Peach's cage and freed her, and the two of them regrouped with the others.

Bowser groaned miserably. "I can't believe I lost again!" In a child's tantrum, he flailed his arms and stubby legs.

A swirl of darkness manifested near Bowser, and Kaorinite appeared when the darkness dispersed. Bowser rolled onto his knees and brought his hands together in a plea-shape. "Kaorinite, I'm so happy you are here. I was handling things just fine, but they got some lucky shots –"

"Silence," Kaori said in a huff. Even through her voice sounded calm, it was just a mask for her growing frustration. Her face was nearly as red as her hair. "I have had enough of your bubbling incompetence and astounding idiocy."

"Just give me a hand, Kaori, and I will stomp on these bugs."

"Give you a hand?" Kaorinite looked at the pitiful monster with snide wickedness. "I can give you a hand." The evil dark witch raised her hands above her head. A mass of darkness formed at her finger tips and grew bigger as sparks of dark energy lashed off of the mass more and more. A sickening chill radiated outward and clenched the hearts of the onlookers. "Dark Power!" With a grand swing of her arms, she sent the sphere of dark energy colliding into Bowser and completely engulfing the monster in darkness. He screamed as the energy enveloped him and surged with every fiber of his being and thinned around his form until disappearing under his skin, leaving the king convulsing and twitching violently until he let out terrifying roar. This roar was much more monstrous than his normal one. It shook the castle's foundation. The pillars in the chamber began to shiver and crack. The heroes tried to stand their ground and shield their ears. His eyes were ablaze with hellfire. His appendages began to contort unnaturally before growing in size to match the growth of his body and head. The bright yellow scales darkened to a sickening rusted gold. Every color on his body was darkened. Even the white of his shell, teeth, and claws yellowed. Every sharp point sharpened and grew in length, especially his horns, which curved into far beastlier horns of a demon. The horrible shine is his eyes faded to reveal two gems of blood and hate surround by ivory rage. The face that housed those evil eyes was much more grotesque and fitting. Only a dragon would find him attractive. At the transformation's end, this monster stood at twice the size of the already immense original Koopa King.

"Raise, Giga Bowser!" Kaorinite announced victoriously.

Everyone met the iniquitous leer of the monster.

"What did you do to him?" Peach gasped in horror, placing her hands on her terrified face.

"I gave your little nemesis a power boost… Plus, he was bugging me so I transformed him into an even ugly monster completely void of what once made him an individual. Now, he is a servant of the Dark Kingdom."

"You aren't going to get away with this," said Sailor Saturn.

Kaorinite laughed. "He begs to differ. Giga Bowser, Sweetie, destroy them." She vanished.

Giga Bowser roared and charged. Easily, he was frighteningly quicker in this form. The heroes scattered as fast as they good, but they could still feel the wind waves released by the swipes of his razor claws. All of his strikes were quick but had a vicious beast's grace. Sailor Jupiter fired a lightning ball at him, and Sailor Mars shot off several fire rings. Both attacks hit the mark, but Gigi Bowser didn't even flinch. He did have, however, targets to attack and a reason. Tuxedo Mask, Luigi, and Yoshi stayed close to the princess to keep her out of the monster's rampage. Sailor Mercury hit him with a jet of water. The water quickly crystallized around him, but he broke free a mere second after it was done freezing. He didn't even flinch when Sailor Venus whipped him in the face with her chain. The flames he breathed were joined by a molten drool that added more hazards to the already tattered battlefield. Neither that nor Mario's punches to his chin seemed stray him from his single-minded wrath.

"He is much tougher," said Sailor Venus. "What do we do now?"

Sailor Mercury watched him carefully with her Mercury Goggles to see if she could pinpoint a weakness. "The best thing to do is wear him down and then turn him back to normal with the Moon Stick."

"Why can't I just use it now?" asked Sailor Moon.

"The concentration of Dark Power is far too strong right now."

"I can help with that," said Sailor Saturn. She charged up her attack… "Death Reborn Revolution!"…and threw the ball of energy and nailed Giga Bowser. "Everyone, attack; hurry!"

"Sabao Spray!"

"Flower Hurricane!"

Sailor Mercury's bubbles swarmed and swirled around Giga Bowser, trapping him and, most importantly, keeping him in one place to get blasted by the barraged of the flower petals Sailor Jupiter fired to further bind him.

"Crescent…"

"Fire…"

"Beam!"

"Soul!"

The stream of fire and beam of energy fused together and struck Giga Bowser. Flames singed all of his body. Once the fired fizzled out, he stood motionlessly.

"Is it over?" asked Peach.

Giga Bowser roared ferociously and flexed his bulging muscles. His gaze was just as hellish and horrific as it was when he just finished transforming.

"He is unstoppable," said Sailor Jupiter with anxious disappointment.

"Mario!" called Peach. She pointed up to the ceiling. "Look!"

All of the heroes looked up. Floating gently, blissfully, aglow with the reflection of the flames that burned throughout the chamber, dawned with little cherubic wings, was a flock of Question Blocks.

"Flying Question Blocks!" Luigi gasped. "If we hit those, maybe something that will come out of them will help us stop Giga Bowser."

"I'm up for anything at this point," said Sailor Venus. She looked at Giga Bowser, who was waiting menacingly for them to make the next move. "We need to do it soon."

"Mario, Luigi, get those blocks to release something good," said Sailor Mars. "We'll distract this monster. Ready?"

"I'm ready," said Sailor Saturn pulling out a Poké Ball from her waist. "Let's do this. Harutomo, stage on!" She threw the Poké Ball, unleashing her trusted and beloved Gallade. "Use Double Team!"

Harutomo landed quickly after emerging from his Poké Ball and split into multiple copies that dashed around the chamber, leaping from pillar to pillar and hopping around Giga Bowser to agitated him. Meanwhile, Mario and Luigi leapt up as high as they could to hit the Flying Question Blocks. The lower floating ones were hard enough to hit. Unfortunately, none of them released anything other than coins, one right after another, leaving dull Used Blocks. Giga Bowser had swatted away many of the illusionary Gallades until finally swiping the real one with a smack of his hand. Sailor Saturn gasped. Before Giga Bowser came in for the final stomp to crush the Pokémon, Sailor Mars knocked him off balance with a blast of fire rings, which gave Sailor Saturn enough time to recall her dear friend back into his Poké Ball.

"We have to hurry and get the higher ones, Bro!" Luigi said urgently. Mario looked and found one hovering within the range one he had already struck, turning it into a Used Block that stayed in the air. He hoped onto the block and stuck the landing. He watched the remaining Question Block closely; it was floating side to side, bobbing up and down. Mario had to time this just right to jump and hit it in one go because Giga Bowser was still rampaging down below and had knocked down both Sailor Venus and Sailor Mars. He reared back. He had his eye on the prize. He timed it right… and… jumped up as high as he could up into the air and hit the Flying Question Block and released what was inside. When he land his neck craned to see what had come out. Something was above the block, something glowing. Now everyone was looking up at the radiant source of light high above. Floating down and then up and then around, brilliantly aglow with a prodigious gleam of luxuriant, rainbow colors was an orb with a striking symbol.

"What is that?" Sailor Moon said in awe.

"It's a Smash Ball," said Yoshi, amazed. "Smash Balls are items of incredible power. We have to activate it before Giga Bowser does!"

Giga Bowser was immediately draw to the Smash Ball and lunged for it. Mario, too, went after it. The two collided in a flurry of blows: Mario's hit but did little; Giga Bowser's blows fortunately missed. The unusual battling duo traveled after the moving Smash Ball. They struggled for it; each getting a hit one right after the other, causing the orb to flash brighter as it was struck. After getting hit up higher into the air by Giga Bowser, it was nearing its breaking point; one more hit would do it. The hero and the monster jumped up, and, in a photo-finish, Mario hit it. The Smash Ball broke, and all of the magnificent power inside flowed into Mario, making him radiate rainbow light. He landed graceful and turned to face the monster. He put his hands together at his side and then thrust them out in front of him, aimed at Giga Bowser. From his palms, like a rocket, amazing dragons of fire burst forth, radiating flames, crisscrossing in a helix as they waltz. The fiery dragons smashed into the beast with a burst of fireworks. The fire carried him backwards until finally stopping in a beautiful blast of light and fire that lit up the whole chamber. Light poured out of the windows. From Slave I, Ventress and Aurra watched with curiosity.

When the fire disappeared Giga Bowser remained standing but didn't make a single motion. Suddenly, he keeled over and slammed onto the floor with a loud slam.

"Holy cr*p!" gasped Sailor Moon, shocked by the entire show.

"Now, Sailor Moon!" called Sailor Mercury.

"Right!" Sailor Moon called on the Moon Stick, which quickly materialized in her hand. Within the arch of the golden crescent moon, a beautiful orb of light formed. She waved the Moon Stick, leaving a trail of golden dust. "Moon Healing Escalation!" Beams of light emitted from the Moon Stick and landed on the beast along with a flurry of mystical balls of white energy.

Giga Bowser groaned and then screamed "Refresh!" as light engulfed his form. When the light faded, ordinary Bowser was left in his place, out cold.

Kaorinite materialized in the burned chamber, livid and whiter than usual in rage and clenching her teeth. "I will get you next time Sailor Skanks!" She vanished again.

"Can we go now?" asked Luigi, who was cowering behind a pillar.

"Yes," said Peach. She faced all the heroes and smiled gleefully. "All of you deserve a special reward."

They had all returned to the castle safely. All the heroes sat in a posh sitting room draped in pink poof, pink ruffles, and pink fuzz.

"Finally," Sailor Moon said with glistening eyes. "We finally get to have some cake."

"I was thinking about it the whole time we were fighting Giga Bowser," added Sailor Venus.

"I hope this cake is better than the ones I sampled today," Saturn said with a sigh.

"They weren't good?" said Mercury.

"They weren't _bad_," she explained. "They just weren't spectacular. Wedding cake is the best kind of cake. It has to absolutely mind-blowing, you know?"

"I agree," added Sailor Jupiter. "The cake is the most important part of the reception."

Peach entered the room. Two Toads followed her carrying a castle of a cake on an ornate silver platter. The cake was gorgeously decorated with pure, snow white frosting jewelry berries.

"It looks so pretty," said Sailor Moon.

"It tastes even better than it looks," Mario added cheerfully.

Everyone took a bite and was instantly enamored, having entered a magical, sweet-induced euphoria.

"Sweet Silver Crystal!" gasped Sailor Moon. "This is incredible!"

"It beats all of the lame wedding cakes I tried earlier today," Sailor Saturn said as she took another joyful bite.

"Are you getting married?" Peach asked with blissful curiosity.

"Yes. Say, could you bake the cake for my wedding. This cake has everything that a wedding cake needs: appearance, taste, smell; everything. I am blown away by this cake."

"I would be honored," said a gleeful and bubbly Peach. "You all risked your lives to save me and worked so hard."

"Then, it is settled then!" cheered Sailor Moon.

Meanwhile, back at Bowser's castle, Bowser was still lying on the floor of his throne room in the same spot the heroes left him. King Boo's crown came floating into the room. Suddenly, King Boo appeared underneath the crown, having the ability to revive himself if his crown is intact. He floated over to Bowser and poked him. Bowser groaned. King Boo poked him again.

"What is it?" Bowser moaned. "I'm tired."

"There is a note taped to your shell," said King Boo.

Bowser's fumbling hand felt around his shell until he touched the paper note and pulled it up to his face. It read:

_Dear Bowser,_

_We are leaving and will contact you when we need you. Don't call us. Seriously, don't call me._

_Sincerely,_

_Kaorinite_

_P.S.  
>I don't bake, so don't ask me.<em>

"Daww!" Bowser moaned.


End file.
